Police shoot and kill Spokane Valley man

A Spokane Valley man is dead after a confrontation with police Sunday night. Authorities confirmed that the man, identified only as a male in his 50s, was shot by a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy after responding to a report of a domestic dispute at a home near the intersection of Progress Road and Valley Way. The deputy was assigned to Spokane Valley, which contracts with the Sheriff’s Office for police services. It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the shooting, which was reported about 7:30 p.m. Police believe the man was armed with “something sharp,” possibly a knife, when confronted by the officer, whose identity also was being withheld Sunday. The man had been involved in some kind of fight with his roommates at 507 N. Sommer, which neighbors described as a halfway house. Several men reportedly shared the home. The responding officer spotted him outside walking away and is believed to have come within 20 feet of him before the encounter reportedly turned violent, police said. The Spokane Valley intersection where the fatal confrontation occurred was closed Sunday night as detectives from the Spokane Police Department were brought in to conduct the investigation under a critical incident protocol designed to avoid law enforcement agencies investigating themselves. Several streets were blocked off for a couple of blocks in each direction leading to the intersection as well. Detectives expected to be at the scene well into this morning collecting evidence as part of the investigation. It is the second fatal shooting involving Spokane Valley police, and the fourth police-related shooting in the Spokane area overall, since Aug. 25.